gaps

We describe the colonisation of artificially created gaps in an alpine grassland dominated by Chionochloa pallens. Twelve years after their creation, the 50 cm _ 50 cm gaps supported a distinctive vegetation composed of a mixture of perennial forbs, grasses and mosses. Three species (Bryum sp., Epilobium alsinoides and Plantago novae-zelandiae) were recorded only in the gaps.

Light environments in two lowland New Zealand podocarp rainforests are described using data from quantum sensors. Mean daily total photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in the forest understorey varies from 2.6-5.2% incident PPFD in summer and 1.0-2.5% in autumn, and in gaps from 5.0-16.6% in summer and 6.3-8.3% in autumn. Pronounced differences in understorey PPFD occur between clear and overcast days. Overcast days tend to have a lower proportion of 2-minute periods with very low mean PPFD than clear days.